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Wang W, Zhang M, Pan Z, Biesold GM, Liang S, Rao H, Lin Z, Zhong X. Colloidal Inorganic Ligand-Capped Nanocrystals: Fundamentals, Status, and Insights into Advanced Functional Nanodevices. Chem Rev 2021; 122:4091-4162. [PMID: 34968050 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) are intriguing building blocks for assembling various functional thin films and devices. The electronic, optoelectronic, and thermoelectric applications of solution-processed, inorganic ligand (IL)-capped colloidal NCs are especially promising as the performance of related devices can substantially outperform their organic ligand-capped counterparts. This in turn highlights the significance of preparing IL-capped NC dispersions. The replacement of initial bulky and insulating ligands capped on NCs with short and conductive inorganic ones is a critical step in solution-phase ligand exchange for preparing IL-capped NCs. Solution-phase ligand exchange is extremely appealing due to the highly concentrated NC inks with completed ligand exchange and homogeneous ligand coverage on the NC surface. In this review, the state-of-the-art of IL-capped NCs derived from solution-phase inorganic ligand exchange (SPILE) reactions are comprehensively reviewed. First, a general overview of the development and recent advancements of the synthesis of IL-capped colloidal NCs, mechanisms of SPILE, elementary reaction principles, surface chemistry, and advanced characterizations is provided. Second, a series of important factors in the SPILE process are offered, followed by an illustration of how properties of NC dispersions evolve after ILE. Third, surface modifications of perovskite NCs with use of inorganic reagents are overviewed. They are necessary because perovskite NCs cannot withstand polar solvents or undergo SPILE due to their soft ionic nature. Fourth, an overview of the research progresses in utilizing IL-capped NCs for a wide range of applications is presented, including NC synthesis, NC solid and film fabrication techniques, field effect transistors, photodetectors, photovoltaic devices, thermoelectric, and photoelectrocatalytic materials. Finally, the review concludes by outlining the remaining challenges in this field and proposing promising directions to further promote the development of IL-capped NCs in practical application in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenran Wang
- Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510642, China.,School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Zhenxiao Pan
- Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510642, China.,Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Gill M Biesold
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Shuang Liang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Huashang Rao
- Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510642, China.,Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Zhiqun Lin
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Xinhua Zhong
- Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Guangzhou 510642, China.,Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China
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Mandal D, Dambhare NV, Rath AK. Reduction of Hydroxyl Traps and Improved Coupling for Efficient and Stable Quantum Dot Solar Cells. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:46549-46557. [PMID: 34553589 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c11214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Progress in quantum dot (QD)-based solar cells has been underpinned by the improvements in surface passivation and advancements in device engineering. Acute control over the surface properties is crucial to restrict the formation of in-gap trap states and improve the QD coupling in achieving conducting QD films. In this report, we demonstrate a solution-phase hybrid passivation strategy, which is beneficial in removing detrimental hydroxyl traps and improving the coupling between QDs by reducing the interdot distance. Advancement in surface passivation is translated to the long carrier lifetime, higher carrier mobility, and superior protection toward degradations in QD solids. The performance of solar cell devices is increased by 26% to reach an efficiency of 10.6%, compared to the state-of-the-art lead halide passivated solar cells. The improvement in solar cell performance is supported by the reduction of trap states and an 80 nm increase in thickness of the light-absorbing QD layer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debranjan Mandal
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Neha V Dambhare
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Arup K Rath
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
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Efficient PbS Quantum Dot Solar Cells with Both Mg-Doped ZnO Window Layer and ZnO Nanocrystal Interface Passivation Layer. NANOMATERIALS 2021; 11:nano11010219. [PMID: 33467785 PMCID: PMC7830923 DOI: 10.3390/nano11010219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, a Mg-doped ZnO (MZO) thin film is prepared by a simple solution process under ambient conditions and is used as the window layer for PbS solar cells due to a wide n-type bandgap. Moreover, a thin layer of ZnO nanocrystals (NCs) was deposited on the MZO to reduce carrier recombination at the interface for inverted PbS quantum dot solar cells with the configuration Indium Tin Oxides (ITO)/MZO/ZnO NC (w/o)/PbS/Au. The effect of film thickness and annealing temperature of MZO and ZnO NC on the performance of PbS quantum dot solar cells was investigated in detail. It was found that without the ZnO NC thin layer, the highest power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 5.52% was obtained in the case of a device with an MZO thickness of 50 nm. When a thin layer of ZnO NC was introduced between MZO and PbS quantum dot film, the PCE of the champion device was greatly improved to 7.06% due to the decreased interface recombination. The usage of the MZO buffer layer along with the ZnO NC interface passivation technique is expected to further improve the performance of quantum dot solar cells.
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Asaduzzaman A, Runge K, Deymier P, Muralidharan K. Effect of Ligand Adsorption on the Electronic Properties of the PbS(100) Surface. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2020; 36:13312-13319. [PMID: 33112623 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A first-principles density functional theory calculation was carried out to study the adsorption of acetic acid, methyl amine, methanethiol, and hydrogen iodide on the (100) surface of PbS. All four ligands are common capping agents used in colloidal PbS quantum dot-based photovoltaics. Interestingly, among the considered adsorbates, dissociative adsorption was energetically preferred for hydrogen iodide, while associative adsorption was favorable for the rest. Associative adsorption was driven by strong interactions between the electronegative elements (Y) in the respective ligands and the Pb surface atoms via Pb 6p-Y np bond hybridization (n represents the valence quantum number of the respective electronegative elements). Importantly, the adsorption of ligands altered the work function of PbS, with contrasting trends for associative (decrease in the work function) versus dissociative (increase in the work function) adsorption. The changes in the work function correlates well with a corresponding shift in the 5d level of surface Pb atoms. Other important observations include variations in the work function that linearly change with increasing the surface coverage of adsorbed ligands as well as with the strength of the adsorption of ligands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abu Asaduzzaman
- School of Science, Engineering and Technology, Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg, Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057, United States
| | - Keith Runge
- Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, United States
| | - Pierre Deymier
- Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, United States
| | - Krishna Muralidharan
- Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, United States
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Mahajan C, Sharma A, Rath AK. Solution-Phase Hybrid Passivation for Efficient Infrared-Band Gap Quantum Dot Solar Cells. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:49840-49848. [PMID: 33081466 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c15703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The broad tunability of the energy band gap through size control makes colloidal quantum dots (QDs) promising for the development of photovoltaic devices. Large-size lead sulfide (PbS) QDs, exhibiting a narrow energy band gap, are particularly interesting as they can be used to augment perovskite and c-Si solar cells due to their complementary NIR absorption. However, their complex surface chemistry makes them difficult to process for the development of solar cells. The shape of the QDs transformed from octahedron to cuboctahedron as their size increases, a phenomenon guided by surface energy minimization. As a result, the surface properties change drastically for large-size QDs, which exhibit nonpolar (200) facets and polar (111) facets, as opposed to only (111) facets in small-size QDs. Recent advancements in solution-phase surface passivation strategies, used for the development of high-performance solar cells using the small size and wide band gap QDs, failed to translate a similar enhancement in the case of large-size and narrow band gap QDs. Here, we report a hybrid passivation strategy for large-size and narrow band gap QDs to passivate both (111) and (200) facets, respectively, using inorganic lead triiodide (PbI3-) and organic 3-chloro-1-propanethiol (CPT). By employing charge balance calculation, we identified the desired narrow band gap for QDs to complement the perovskite and c-Si absorption. The distinct choice of the organic ligand CPT enhances the colloidal stability of QDs in the solution phase and improves surface passivation to stop QD fusion in solid films. Photophysical properties show narrower excitonic and emission peaks and a reduction in the Stokes shift. Hybrid passivation leads to a 94% increase in the power conversion efficiency of solar cells and a 74% increase in the external quantum efficiency at the excitonic peak.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandan Mahajan
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Ashish Sharma
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Arup K Rath
- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
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Yang X, Yang J, Khan J, Deng H, Yuan S, Zhang J, Xia Y, Deng F, Zhou X, Umar F, Jin Z, Song H, Cheng C, Sabry M, Tang J. Hydroiodic Acid Additive Enhanced the Performance and Stability of PbS-QDs Solar Cells via Suppressing Hydroxyl Ligand. NANO-MICRO LETTERS 2020; 12:37. [PMID: 34138233 PMCID: PMC7770827 DOI: 10.1007/s40820-020-0372-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 12/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The recent emerging progress of quantum dot ink (QD-ink) has overcome the complexity of multiple-step colloidal QD (CQD) film preparation and pronouncedly promoted the device performance. However, the detrimental hydroxyl (OH) ligands induced from synthesis procedure have not been completely removed. Here, a halide ligand additive strategy was devised to optimize QD-ink process. It simultaneously reduced sub-bandgap states and converted them into iodide-passivated surface, which increase carrier mobility of the QDs films and achieve thicker absorber with improved performances. The corresponding power conversion efficiency of this optimized device reached 10.78%. (The control device was 9.56%.) Therefore, this stratege can support as a candidate strategy to solve the QD original limitation caused by hydroxyl ligands, which is also compatible with other CQD-based optoelectronic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaokun Yang
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Nanoimprint Technology, South University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
- Shenzhen R&D Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518000, People's Republic of China
| | - Ji Yang
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
| | - Jahangeer Khan
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
| | - Hui Deng
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- Shenzhen R&D Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518000, People's Republic of China
| | - Shengjie Yuan
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- Shenzhen R&D Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518000, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
| | - Yong Xia
- School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
| | - Feng Deng
- National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China
| | - Xue Zhou
- National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China
| | - Farooq Umar
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhixin Jin
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Nanoimprint Technology, South University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Haisheng Song
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China.
- Shenzhen R&D Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518000, People's Republic of China.
| | - Chun Cheng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Nanoimprint Technology, South University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China.
| | - Mohamed Sabry
- Physics Department, College of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Solar Physics Lab, National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Jiang Tang
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luoyu Road 1037, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- Shenzhen R&D Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518000, People's Republic of China
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